A police officer, Huw Orphan, who fractured his wife’s spine by kicking her down the stairs has been prohibited from joining any law enforcement agency.
Two claims of disreputable conduct were substantiated against Huw Orphan during an expedited disciplinary hearing in Cwmbran.
The 31-year-old Huw Orphan from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, was found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm at Cardiff Crown Court in September.
Gwent Police’s temporary assistant chief constable Nick McLain said he had “no hesitation” in proving the allegations.
Had Huw Orphan not resigned shortly before the hearing, Mr McLain said, he “would have been immediately dismissed had he not resigned.”
Huw Orphan did not attend the hearing.
The attack against his wife, an officer named Amy Burley, happened in April 2020.
Mr McLain said Huw Orphan brought the force into disrepute and undermined the public’s confidence in policing.
The hearing, in Cwmbran, heard that after the couple had an argument, Huw Orphan kicked out backwards at the top of the stairs into his wife’s stomach.
She fell down the stairs, fracturing one of her vertebrae.
Previously, the hearing was told Huw Orphan barged through the front door, resulting in actual bodily harm. His wife hit her head and he dug his nails into her.
Mr McLain said the “gratuitous violence” was an aggravating factor and the gross misconduct related to the “wholly unacceptable” abuse of a woman.
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